Dundee Literary Festival, 2013

Venture across the Tay for poetry aplenty at this year’s Dundee Literary Festival, 23-27 October. Read on for more about their poetry related programme.

Thursday 24th October, 12noon: Robert Alan Jamieson - Talking Poetry

Robert Alan Jamieson was born in 1958 in the crofting community of Sandness on Shetland. After publishing two novels (Soor Hearts and Thin Wealth) and a collection of poetry, Shoormal, during the 1980s, he studied English Literature at the University of Edinburgh as a mature student, before taking up the William Soutar Fellowship in Perth (1993-96). He currently teaches on the Creative Writing course at Edinburgh University.

His most recent publications are the poetry collection, Nort Atlantik Drift (Luath, 2007) and Da Happie Laand, his epic ‘strange masterpiece’ from 2011. Here he talks to Dundee’s own Kirsty Gunn about his work with words.

Tickets: £3 / £2

Thursday 24th October, 1pm: A Poem and a Piece - Michael Hulse

Michael Hulse has won numerous awards for his poetry, and has earned the praise of Simon Armitage, C. K. Stead, the late Peter Porter and many others. His books of poetry include Knowing and Forgetting (1981), Propaganda (1985), Empires and Holy Lands (2002) and, most recently, The Secret History (2009). A new collection, Half-Life, is forthcoming. His best-selling anthology The Twentieth Century in Poetry (co-edited with Simon Rae, 2011) was described by The Guardian as 'magnificent'. He has translated more than sixty books from the German, among them works by Goethe, Rilke, W. G. Sebald and Herta Müller

Tickets: £5 (includes lunch)

Thursday 24th October, 4pm: Michael Hulse - Found in Translation

'A poet, I believe, is always stronger for having a genuine love of language, literatures, the visual arts, music, history, the natural world, and a wish to pursue substance rather than surface effect, and these requirements fire my own writing.' Michael Hulse is a translator, teacher, editor, magazine publisher and critic, as well as a poet. He has translated titans of German literature - including Goethe, Rilke, Jakob Wassermann, Elfriede Jelinek, W. G. Sebald and Herta Müller – and championed the work of others through his editorship of literary magazines, such as Stand and The Warwick Review. In his event he will share his love of language and thoughts on the landscape of literature with Kirsty Gunn.

Now a regular part of the Dundee Festival Programme, Kirsty Gunn introduces the stars of Dundee’s unique degree in Writing Practice and Study. Hear the latest work by new poets and novelists just graduating from the course and discover what secrets they’ve picked up about the world of writing - from first drafts to presentation.

Tickets: free but ticketed

Friday 25th October, 12noon: A L Kennedy - On Writing

After six novels, five story collections, two books of non-fiction, and countless international prizes, A L Kennedy certainly has the authority to talk about the craft of writing books - it’s just a wonder she has found the time. These are missives from the authorial front line - urgent and vivid, full of the excitement, fury and frustration of trying to make thousands of words into a publishable book. Based around the hugely popular blog that Kennedy writes for The Guardian these pieces add up to the most intimate master-class imaginable giving readers and aspiring writers almost everything they need to know about the complexities of researching, writing and publishing fiction, all from one of the finest - and most humane - writers.

Tickets: £3 / £2

Friday 25th October, 1pm: A Poem and a Piece - Paula Jennings

Paula Jennings’s poems have been published in literary magazines, national newspapers, and anthologies. They have also been carved in stone by Gillian Forbes (Ingleby Gallery, Edinburgh) and broadcast on Radio Scotland. Some notable reading venues have included StAnza and, most recently, Rosslyn Chapel. Her poetry has been described as ‘radiating intense awareness of what it means to be alive’. She has published two collections – Singing Lucifer (Onlywomen Press, 2002/2007) and From the Body of the Green Girl (HappenStance Press, 2008) – and is currently completing work on a third.

Tickets: £5 (includes lunch)

Saturday 26th October, 11am: The Gruffalo’s Wean - James Robertson

Has there ever been a more popular character than the Gruffalo? We’re pleased to be presenting a wee Scots twist on the stories as award winning author James Robertson reads from The Gruffalo’s Wean, the follow-up to the bestselling Gruffalo in Scots. There will be loads of fun, games and stories in the Scots language.

Tickets: free but ticketed

Saturday 26th October, 1pm: A Poem and a Piece - Em Strang

Em Strang is a poet in her final year of a PhD in Creative Writing (Ecopoetry) at Glasgow University. She has published work in numerous anthologies and journals including Dark Mountain, Causeway, New Writing Scotland, and The Herald. She is currently working on a book of poems and illustrations with folk artist, Rima Staines. She lives in south west Scotland.

Whaleback City: the Poetry of Dundee and its Hinterland is a unique anthology of poems inspired by the city of Dundee and its surroundings. In it you will find poems about the city, its history, its architecture and its landscape, spanning six centuries and distilling the spirit and temperament of its people, both celebrated and ordinary. Poets range from Sir Walter Scott and William McGonagall to contemporary voices such as Douglas Dunn and Don Paterson. The poems themselves speak of subjects as diverse as the Tay and its bridges, the Jute industry, Liz McColgan, the People’s Friend, Dens Road Market and a hundred other things that are uniquely Dundonian. Whether you love poetry or you love Dundee, this is a very special collection saluting Scotland’s most industrious and enterprising city, and today’s event invites you to hear more from editors W N Herbert and Andy Jackson.

Through music and poetry Andrew Greig recounts the tale of his open dinghy voyage from Stromness to Cava. By sailing small boats in scary open waters Andrew Greg found a new activity and a new metaphor for life. Written in six weeks, Found at Sea is a ‘very wee epic’ about sailing, male friendship and a voyage, performed here with musical accompaniment from Jim Hutcheson.